Xcel Energy will not have an offer on the table before Boulder plans to file for condemnation in January, Xcel Vice President Jerome Davis told the Camera on Thursday.

A day earlier, Boulder City Council members took an initial vote to begin the process of acquiring Xcel Energy's assets for a municipal utility, but many council members said they were interested in pursuing a "parallel track" of moving closer to condemnation while holding the door open for some sort of deal with Xcel.

Those council members said they wanted to know more about products and services that Xcel says would give not just Boulder but communities around the state access to more renewable energy and reduce the use of coal.

But they also said the threat of condemnation and municipalization would help bring Xcel to the table.

Asked about the idea of a parallel track Thursday, Davis said Xcel is moving forward with the ideas "with or without Boulder," but many of those ideas will require regulatory approval and take time to develop.

"The idea that on Jan. 1 we're going to have something tied up in a box -- here's the options -- that's not reality," he said.

But Xcel Energy can have many of its programs in place before 2017, when the city anticipates being able to start its own utility.

"We'll beat that date," he said.

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Davis said that even if Xcel weren't taking any steps toward adding renewables or providing incentives for energy efficiency, municipalization would still be a risky bet for Boulder. There are too many things that could go wrong, he said, and Boulder doesn't have the experience that an established utility does.

But Xcel is adding more renewables, Davis said, and it has presented specific proposals that could improve energy efficiency and increase renewables at a faster rate.

In a proposal presented through a joint community task force, Xcel offered a range of new products and services, from adding money for energy efficiency programs to allowing entire communities to opt into tiered rate structures that would encourage conservation.

Many of those proposals came with time frames in the memo.

Xcel could begin using SmartGrid technology to develop new ideas and technologies over the next three to nine months.

A "Green City Rate" to encourage conservation could be developed in six to 18 months, Xcel said.

Environmental re-dispatch, which would allow customers to pay the differential between burning coal and burning cleaner natural gas, could take two years or more, the memo said.

Boulder City Councilwoman Suzanne Jones, a supporter of a municipal utility, said she believes there is still value in looking at Xcel's proposals.

"The idea is that in the next six months, if Xcel is serious, we could have much more detailed negotiations about what is possible," she said. "I think there is some skepticism about how serious they are. I'm sure there is skepticism on their part as well."

Jones said her experience in environmental litigation is that often negotiations go nowhere until a lawsuit is filed or threatened.

However, the further down the road to municipalization Boulder goes, the more it will take from Xcel for the city to change course, she said.

"It would have to be a big carbon reduction or a big renewables boost," she said. "It sounds like Xcel is pouring cold water on that possibility, and if that is so, then that's a self-fulfilling prophecy."

Boulder Mayor Matt Appelbaum said the company's proposal to date amounts to telling Boulder customers to pay more if they want to see changes.

Even so, he believes there could be value in negotiation -- provided Xcel is willing to reconsider the relationship it has with the communities it serves.

Appelbaum said Boulder could put condemnation on hold if it sees serious overtures from Xcel.

"The track record is that they never do anything unless their back is against the wall," he said.

Davis rejected that characterization and said Xcel has always been open to new ideas.

During the task force process, Xcel said it was not interested in discussing "partnership proposals," and Davis repeated that position Thursday.

Former Boulder County commissioner Will Toor, who participated in the task force, said he had hoped the council would delay voting on an acquisition ordinance, but he still sees room to talk.

"Despite the different time frames, there is still the potential that some of the programs that Xcel has proposed could be very useful for meeting the city goals, especially for reducing carbon emissions," he said. "I had been hopeful there would be some time to develop these before moving on the acquisition ordinance. Even though it appears that isn't going to happen, I remain hopeful that the city will continue to engage with Xcel to develop these options.

"It's going to be quite a while before any final decisions are made," he added.

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